Track-spike



L. P. CHICOINE.

TRACK SPIKE.

APPLICATION men szrr. Is. 1920.

1,387,689. Patented Aug. 16,1921.

Louis E Chico/he. I //IV/7/b/I LOUIS P. CHICOINE, OF VAUDREUIL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

TRACK-SPIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 16', 1921- Application filed September 16, 1920. Serial No. 410,804.

To all "ll-720m it may concern:

Be it known that .1, Louis P. GHICOINE, a resident of the town of Yaudreuil, Prov ince of Quebec, Dominion of Canada; a subject of the King of Great Britain, have inented certain new and useful Improvements in T rack-Spikes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Heretofore numerous attempts have been made to produce a spike for fastening track rails to the ties which would not work out of the. latter when th rails were subjected to traffic. These attempts however have failed to produce a spike which would overcome the difliculty without raising further difficulties which rendered it unsuitable for extensive use. For instance attempts have been made to lock the spike in position after it had been driven in by shiftin the tie plate but this proved most unsatisfactory as additional fastening devices were required to hold the tie plate in the position to which it was shifted.

The object of my invention is to provide a track spike the measurements of which will be substantially the same as those of the standard railway track spike and which unlike the latter will hold fast notwithstanding wave motion of the rails. A further object is to provide a spike which may be readily removed by a claw bar or like spike removing tool.

To this end my invention briefly stated consists of a track spike having a projection upon its back adapted to engage the underside of the tie plate and a cam surface upon its front side at the throat adapted to engage the rail, and as the spike is being driven to shift the latter away from the rail into position with the projection engaging the underside of the plate.

For full comprehension, however, of my invention reference must be had to the accompanying drawings in which similar reference characters indicate the same parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of a rail and supporting tie and tie plate illustrating my improved spike in position for use;

Fig. 2 is a plan view partly in section; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the spike SllOWiIlg the contour of both the front and back sides.

In the accompanying drawings the rail is indicated at 2, the tie plate at 3, the tie at 4 I and my improved spike at 5. The tie plate illustrated is of the type in general use and the spike openings 6 therein are no larger than those required for standard track spikes.

My improved spike in the main is substantially the same as a standard track spike. It is of rectangular cross-section presenting four sides 7, 8, 9 and 10.

For purposes of distinction the side 7 which engages the rail will hereinafter be referred to as the front of the spike while that opposite indicated at 8 will be referred to as the back of the spike. The lower end of the spike is tapered off to a point as at 12 while the top terminates in. the usual head 13.

In order to prevent the spike working out of the tie its back is formed with a shoul der 1% which is located at such a distance from the head of the spike that it will be positioned just below the tie plate when the spike is in rail retaining position.

The extent to which the shoulder projects beyond the back of the spike is approximately of an inch while the greatest width of the spike from its point to the shoulder is of an inch so that the spike with the shoulder passes readily through the opening in the tie plate as such opening measures about of an inch.

As the point of the shoulder reaches a position immediately below the underside of the tie-plate, the spike is constructed and arranged to be shifted laterally away from the rail to a position in which the lower side edge 20 of the opening in the tie-plate engages the spike at the junction between the face 21 of the shoulder and the back of the spike. This shifting of the spike is effected by an enlargement at the throat of the spike presenting two faces 22 and 28, the former curving outwardly more abruptly than the latter which, when the spike is in rail-retaining position, will be in intimate contact with the base of the rail and with the nose of the spike positioned slightly above the same to permit of wave-motion.

From this position of the spike it will be seen that vibration or wave-motion of the rail will tend to shift the spike laterally instead of perpendicularly owing to the cam face 23 and consequently will cause the shoulder to abut tightly against the corner 20 of the tie-plate.

It has been found that better results are obtained by disposing the face of the shoulder at an oblique angle to theback of the spike, as it not only facilitates the positioning of the shoulder beneath the tie-plate, but also enables the spike to be readily withdrawn with a claw-bar or the like; however, a face disposed at right angles to the face of the spike may be employed if found desirable without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The enlarged throat of the spike, while maintaining the latter in position with its shoulder engaging the tie plate, will also increase the life of the spike as it will resist throat-cutting which has shortened theflives of so many spikes in the past.-

, set forth.

1' 2. In a railway track the combination with a tie, a tie plate upon the tie, and a railv upon the tie plate; of a spike for fastening the rail to the tie through thetie plate, said spike having a lateral projection upon its back adapted to engage the underside of the tie plate when in rail retaining position, and

an enlargement at the throat of the spike at the opposite side thereof adapted to engage the rail when the spike is being driven for the purpose of shifting the latter in a direction away from the rail to the rail retaining position whereby the rail assists in maintaining the'plate in such position In a railway track, the combinationwith a tie, a tie plate upon the tie and'a rail'upon the tie-plate; of a spike for fastening therail to the tie through the tie plate,.said-spike having a lateral projection upon its back presenting a face disposed at an oblique angle to the latter and adapted to engage the underside of the tie plate when the spike is in rail-retaining position, and

an enlargement at the throat of said spike constructed and arranged as the spike is being driven to shift it into position with the said face engaging the underside of the tie-platen In testimony whereof I have signed my name tothis specification in the presence of two witnesses.

' LOUIS P. GHIUOINE. Witnesses: -GORDON G. Coo e,

WILLIAM'J. C. HEWETSON. 

